The salaries of the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ presenters and judges have been unveiled in the corporation’s annual report, and there are a few eyebrow-raising revelations.
The biggest surprise is that Tess Daly who has been with the BBC dance show since its launch in 2004, earned between £350-£399K in the last year, whilst her co-host Claudia Winkleman, who replaced Bruce Forsyth in 2014, banked between £450-£499K.
This not only makes Claudia the highest paid ‘Strictly’ star, but also the highest earning female at the BBC.
Both stars present other shows on the Beeb, with Tess a regular on the likes of Children In Need, whilst Claudia presents ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ and her own Radio 2 show.
Not all of the ‘Strictly’ judges earn the same salary either.
Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel-Horwood are both in the £150-£199K bracket, whilst Bruno Tonioli and outgoing head judge Len Goodman both earned between £200,000 and £249,000 in the last year.
Meanwhile, Zoe Ball, who presents Strictly’s sister show, ‘It Takes Two’, is paid £250-299K.
The report reveals the pay of anyone working for the Beeb who earns more than £150,000 a year - the first time this information has been made public as a result of a change made to the BBC’s Royal Charter.
Chris Evans is the BBC’s top earner, raking in £2.2million a year, whilst ‘Match Of the Day’ host Gary Lineker is the second biggest earner with a salary of £1.75m a year.
Elsewhere, the salaries of the ‘EastEnders’ cast have also been revealed in the same report.
Laurie Brett (who plays Jane Beale), Linda Henry (Shirley Carter), Scott Maslen (Jack Branning), Letitia Dean (Sharon Mitchell), Tameka Empson (Kim Fox-Hubbard) and Diane Parish (Denise Fox) are among those earning between £150,000 to £199,999.
Perhaps surprisingly, Lacey Turner, who has won multiple British Soap Awards and National Television Awards for her portrayal of Stacey Slater, is also taking home significantly less than the soap’s male leads.
Danny Dyer and Adam Woodyatt are being paid between £200,000 and £249,999 for their portrayals of Mick Carter and Ian Beale.
The report also includes the salaries of other shows including ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘Holby City’.